Elliot Page knows the importance of LGBTQ+ representation in media — because it was that representation that drastically changed his life.
The Umbrella Academy actor says that growing up, the films and television series that celebrated queer people helped him accept his identity.
"I, for one, know that without the various representation that I was able to stumble upon as a kid and a teenager — there was very little — I just don't know if I would have made it," Elliot said at the Outfest Los Angeles LGBTQ Film Festival.
He continued, "I don't know if I would have made it through the moments of isolation and loneliness and shame and self-hatred that was so extreme and powerful and all-encompassing that you could hardly see out of it."
Elliot went on to highlight one film in particular — Natasha Lyonne's 1999 movie But I'm a Cheerleader.
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The film follows a high schooler whose parents send her to conversion therapy when they believe she's gay. Instead of changing her way of thinking, she falls in love with another teenage girl.
